Gran Turismo 6 preview and incredible screens

Next generation? Who needs the next generation? Although eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that Gran Turismo 6 would be coming out on the PlayStation 3 rather than the expected PlayStation 4, you only need take one look at the screengrabs of the game released so far, or take a drive around Silverstone in the E3 demo, to realise this is a next-gen game in a current-gen body.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had a few Gran Turismo 6 driving pods almost directly opposite DriveClub, and as much as we thought the PS4 title was fun, there was no comparison, either on the road or in graphical presentation. GT6 is quite simply the best swansong for the third generation of consoles there could ever have been.

Like its predecessors, as proven during the brief few laps we've had on the driving simulation, this is one tough game. Although Turn10 puts love, sweat and tears of petrol into its Forza Motorsport series, that feels like Burnout when played alongside Gran Turismo 6. It took the first few attempts just to keep the car on track, and with a number of driving aids turned on, to boot.

Admittedly, we were racing on one of the world's greatest circuits, and in a Nissan DeltaWing, the space-age car that was entered into the last LeMans 24 hour race. It's nippy but hard to manoeuvre for a non-racing driver and the game chewed us up and spat us out many times.

But that's what we love about Gran Turismo; that it is so realistic that it even stops being fun at times. Not everyone will like that kind of approach, but we could barely tear ourselves away from the E3 playable version. Partly because the cab of the pod was so small it took two to get us back out again, but mainly because we had to stay to get it right.

Like with all other GT games, there will be plenty of cars to collect and race with, including open-wheeled racing cars for the first time thanks to a new physics engine. But we suspect there will be some times when you just want to stop and admire the scenery.

If this is what's capable on the current generation PS3, heaven knows what GT7 on the PS4 will look like.

Gran Turismo 6 will be available for PlayStation 3 around Christmas time. A demo of the game will be available to download in July.